CU Athletes Reaching New Heights And Blossoming in Boulder

BOULDER - The world of college golf is becoming an ever-increasing competitive environment with more and younger players setting their sights on the professional tour after the completion of their four years at the collegiate level. The level of talent and play of the incoming players is also increasing, creating a more difficult task in obtaining a tour card.

The University of Colorado is quickly becoming recognized as a place where incoming players can drastically improve and gain fantastic experience making their long-range goals as a player more possible.

Not every player entering college golf wants to turn professional when they are finished with their degree, but rest assured, the ones who do seem to be prepared for the challenge, especially at CU with two experienced coaches in head coach Anne Kelly and assistant coach Brent Franklin.

"Our goal is not to turn our student-athletes into professionals, but to prepare them to be the best players and self-sufficient adults they can be," Kelly said.

Being located in Colorado has its challenges, as most players want a place they feel has year-round practice facilities in the best weather. Kelly advocates, "It's not only how long you can practice that makes a successful player, but exactly what areas you are working on and how you go about your own plan for development."

The CU women's team has developed quite a few professional players over the past ten years or so, most notably Robyn Choi, who turned pro after the 2018 fall semester. Choi earned her LPGA Tour card after making if through the three stages of LPGA Q-School and made the tough decision to turn pro after just 2.5 years at Colorado.

The Buffs have had two individuals earn their LPGA tour cards, which is the highest level in professional golf for women. The other Buff besides Choi is Jenny Coleman, who played for CU from 2010-14. Franklin, who has been the assistant coach for 15 seasons, has been a huge part in their improvement.

The two also share another amazing stat as both players started out with 77 and 78 scoring averages their first semester. They did not come in as highly recruited, high-ranking amateur players. Basically, they started from near the bottom and through hard work and perseverance made their way up the ladder.

"Obviously other schools have had team members make the tour, but from where these players started, to where they ended up, I doubt it's been done that same way once, let alone twice," Franklin said.

Choi is one such player, who like many other players was recruited to play for CU was not the best player as an amateur or the most talented as a freshman during her first semester. "What made Robyn so special was her ability to not only be coached, but her ability to absorb information and implement the changes," Kelly said.

During Choi's fall freshman campaign, she recorded a 77.3 stroke average, but she took the information and instruction her coaches gave her, and improved to a 74.9 average in the spring. Then in the fall of 2017, Choi recorded a 71.9 stroke average, showing a great improvement from her first and second years on the team.

Coleman averaged a 78.1 fall stroke average as a freshman and by her first spring, brought her average down to 75.5 and finished her career with a 74.3 average.

"Brent was able to help Robyn make specific adjustments in her swing, helping her get longer and change her ball flight a bit," Kelly said. "He helped her and many other players with their short games, which accounts for a great deal of the improvements players have in our program. I believe we are able to teach players to play to their strengths by making the right decisions for their own game.

For Choi, improving her ability to manage herself on the golf course and gain the confidence needed to be a top player was something Franklin was able to help her learn. She is still planning to work with him as much as she can when she is on tour.

There is no doubt that the list of Buffaloes who have gone on to play professionally will continue to grow under the guidance of Kelly and Franklin. They have been able to take some athletes who were under the radar, and help them excel in the sport. Kelly admits she is lucky to have someone of Franklin's caliber working with the team.

So many players say they want to become the best they can be, but their work effort or ability to be coached does not match their statement. "There are always challenges with running a top program, but I feel we have certainly proven our ability to teach and develop players properly," said Kelly.

The only other aspect that sometimes needs clarification is a timeline for the progress. Some athletes take longer than others do and it is not always easy to know how quickly the process will take.

"You never know how long it will take to get the student-athlete's game to the level needed to compete in the Pac-12, but we usually have a pretty good idea," Kelly said. "The only downside is when our timeline doesn't match up with that of the player or her parents. Patience in this case is a valuable commodity."

CU women's golf has now had several top-25 teams and has been around enough top players to have a great grasp of all that is involved in the developmental process. The challenge this program faces is different from those of the perennial top-five teams in that Kelly's strong teams are usually junior or senior laden.

"Our freshman usually can't compete with the freshman of those top teams with their skill development; however I would not necessarily say that is true during year two or three," Kelly said. "Several times we have had sophomores and juniors play with the very best players in the country, head-to-head, and more than hold their own."

Kelly gets a lot of satisfaction from that statement, and went on to explain, "I love when we have players that nobody has heard of their freshman year, and then they excel later in their college career or qualify for the LPGA tour after some time. Other coaches ask, 'Where did you find them?'"

One thing is for sure about Colorado and its women's golf team, there are no guarantees that any player on the team can become one of the world's best, but the chances are that no other place can give a player a better chance.

Addition Professional Note:
CU has had several athletes find success on the Symetra Tour, including Esther Lee (2014-17), Emily Talley (2008-12), Jessica Wallace (2010-12), Brittany Fan (2014-18) and Kristin Coleman (2010-14), Alexis Keating (2017). Erin Kerr Houtsma (2000-03) also played professionally and won the 2005 Colorado Women's Open.

CU Athletes Reaching New Heights And Blossoming in Boulder

Players Mentioned

Robyn Choi

Brittany Fan

Esther Lee

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